


Shot in the Heart

by HappyHealthyNerdy



Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Assassin Artemis, Eventual Roy Harper/Jade Nguyen, F/M, Hate to Love, Moder day Royalty AU, Prince Wally, Spitfire au, They still have their powers, everyone is royalty
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-11
Updated: 2018-04-26
Packaged: 2019-03-03 07:43:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13336590
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HappyHealthyNerdy/pseuds/HappyHealthyNerdy
Summary: Artemis has been sent by Sportmaster to spy on, and eventually kill, Prince Wallace of the Flash Kingdom. As her mission progresses, she finds that Prince Wallace is not quite as stupid, or obnoxious, as she first thought. In fact, she discovers that she might even be falling for him, not that she'd ever admit it.





	1. And so It Begins

**Author's Note:**

> The fabulous idea that began this story was y Vaders_Apprentice! Once again thank you so much for the amazing idea!

Artemis tugged at the bottom of the short skirt of her new school uniform. She couldn’t understand why her dad had assigned her this mission. She had been the only one in the entire kingdom who hadn’t wanted the mission, yet it had been assigned to her. She assumed it was a test of some sort, and she was determined to pass, if only to prove she could.

As the second daughter of the Assassin King, also known as Sportsmaster, she was often used as one of his tools. Artemis, to the few who knew her face, was the Assassin Princess, one of the deadliest women alive. Her task, which she had no choice but to accept, was to confirm if Prince Wallace West’s planned to create an alliance with the Kingdom of the Bats and Arrows. Regardless of whether it’s true, when she has her answer she will kill him.

She tugged on the edge of her skirt again, cursing the uniform of Gotham Academy. The uniform was going to be her sole outfit until she completes her mission, which she hoped to do quickly. She hated everything about this mission. She hated that she had to do it, she hated the uniform, and she hated the school. Gotham Academy was the school of choice for every royal or person of money that graced the earth. From what she had observed in her research before the mission, every student at the school was some sort of snob. They all had so much money that the thought of interacting with anyone with less money was scandalous.

She saw a girl making her way through the crowd to her, and her green skin alerted Artemis to her identity. Her school guide was Princess M’gann of Mars, the niece of King J’ohn of Mars. Her family hadn’t been on earth long, but they had quickly made many connections to the families of influence on Earth. Me’gan was also a close friend of Artemis’s target, Prince Wallace. 

“Hi!” Princess M’gann began, smiling brightly, “I’m M’gann, and you must be Lady Artemis!”

“Right,” Artemis said, mentally reminding herself of her fake identity; she was Lady Artemis of the far corner of the Arrow Kingdom, “Hi.”

“Have you already gotten your schedule and orientation papers?” She asked, and Artemis nodded, patting her bag.

“Yeah,”

“That’s great!” M’gann exclaimed, “Is there anything that you want to see before classes start?”

Artemis shook her head, “I’m good.”

M’gann nodded happily, “Ok then! We have first period together, so I’ll just introduce you to my friends in the class!”

Artemis barely had time to nod before M’gann was dragging her though the hallway, dodging students as she ran. Artemis could feel the eyes on her and it made her uncomfortable. She hated being the center of attention, she would much prefer to be hidden in the shadows.

M’gann let of her arm so she could run up to a tall, buff, grumpy looking teen lurking next to a doorway. The kiss that followed made Artemins remember the boy’s identity. He was Prince Conner, the illegitimate son of King Kent. Artemis recalled that the only reason he was the heir was because there were no other people to take his place. It was not a well-kept secret that King Kent was not extremely fond of Prince Conner.

“Artemis!” M’gann cried, dragging Artemis’s mind back to the present, “This is Prince Conner, my boyfriend!”

“Hi,” Artemis said awkwardly, and Prince Conner just nodded. The shrill ring of the bell prevented there from being any more awkward conversation.

Artemis quickly made her way to the seat M’gann pointed her too, hoping to be able to avoid the awkwardness of having to introduce herself to the class. As the other students entered, she took the opportunity to observe her classmates. Due to her extensive research to prepare for her mission, she knew that Prince Wallace wasn’t in this class. However, his best friend, Prince Richard of the Kingdom of Bat’s, was.

She saw Prince Richard as he entered, and despite her knowledge of his age, he still was shorter than she expected. Entering with him was Lord Kauldur, one of Aquamans’ most trusted confidants. M’gann quickly made her way over to them and brought them to Artemis.

“This is Artemis!” M’gann exclaimed, “Artemis, this is Prince Richard and Lord Kaulder,”

Prince Richard smiled at her, “Call me Dick,”

“The title is unneeded for me as well. Kauldur is fine.”

“Hi,”

The teacher walking into the room and Artemis took the opportunity to observe Dick. She couldn’t get over how small he was. She knew that he was a prodigy and in a bunch of advanced classed, but she never would have guessed how young he actually was. It was surprising that someone who looked that young was friends with so many older people. She guessed that most of the friendships in this school were based off power relationships. The Kingdom of the Bats was extremely powerful, she wouldn’t be surprised if everyone at the school wanted to be friends with him if only for his family’s power. 

Their teacher for this class was Red Tornado, a robotic warrior that protected the school and taught math. Despite his mostly monotone voice he was a good teacher, but Artemis wasn’t surprised to find that she was struggling. While she was far from stupid, the Kingdom of Assassins taught fighting as a higher priority than math.

By the end of her lesson her head was spinning and was relieved that she was heading to a class that she actually understood: English. It was also the only class, besides lunch, that she shared with her target. This class was her opportunity to become friends with Prince Wallace, and convince him to trust her.

She spotted him as soon as she walked into the classroom, his red hair acting as a beacon. Prince Wallace was excitedly talking to Dick about something that she could hear. M’gann was talking about something, but Artemis ignored her studying Prince Wallace and the man lurking next to him.

Prince Wallace, while taller than her, was shorter than Kauldur. He had a runner’s body, which wasn’t surprising since he was blessed with the speed the distinguished the Flash Kingdom. She knew that his speed would make him hard to kill when the time came, which was why it was essential that she gain his trust, so he wouldn’t see her deception coming.

She knew that the redhead lurking next to Prince Wallace could be a problem. He was tall, with lean muscles, and a quiver of arrows strapped to his back. If her memory served correctly, he was the Ex-prince of the Kingdom of Arrows, Roy Harper.

No one was sure why, but he had left his title and fortune behind to pursue a career as a high-profile bodyguard. His body language proved that he was on the job, and Artemis had to assume that he was there for Prince Wallace. Her main concern was why. If they knew she was coming her mission would become next to impossible. However, considering Roy had seen her and hadn’t shot her, she assumed her cover was still safe. That still left the question of why Prince Wallace had a bodyguard. Who were they protecting Prince Wallace from?

M’gann dragged her over to Prince Wallace and Artemis prepared herself to make a good impression. As they approached the desk Prince Wallace was sitting on tilted dangerously and dumped Prince Wallace on the floor, his books and papers scattering around him.

Despite herself Artemis smirked and sarcastically commented, “Smooth.”

Prince Wallace glared at her, ignoring Dicks’ laughing and Roy’s eye roll, “Who are you?”

“This is Lady Artemis!” M’gann cut in, “Artemis this is Prince Wallace!”

“Prince Wallace,” Artemis said mockingly and nearly kicked herself, she was supposed to become his friend! However, by the way he huffed and angrily sat back in his seat, she could tell that she hadn’t made a good start.

She didn’t get the chance to try and fix the situation before the teacher called the class to order. Artemis noticed that Roy went to the back of the room while class was in session, out of the way but still having Prince Wallace in his view. Damn, Artemis though, acknowledging the fact that her job just became harder.

During the class she observed Prince Wallace. He seemed to be an average student. He answered questions when called on, but never tried to answer otherwise. However, based on the amount of notes she saw him take, he was a diligent student. Now that she had botched the initial impression, schoolwork might have to be her way in with Prince Wallace.

When the class ended, Prince Wallace ignored her as he left with Dick and Roy. She didn’t seem him again until lunch, when she discovered that Dick, Prince Wallace, M’gann and the others all sat together. Artemis had front seat to Prince Wallace’s stupidity. Artemis could not believe that he was the same man who was supposedly organizing one of the most powerful alliances in history. Prince Wallace was the biggest idiot that Artemis had ever met and she had only known him for a couple hours.

By the end of lunch she had changed her plan. Because of Prince Wallace’s obvious dislike of her, and his stupidity, she would get Dick to tell her the plans of the alliance, and then kill Prince Wallace. It would still complete her mission, but save her the pain of interacting with the annoyance that was Prince Wallace.

“You and Wally don’t seem to like each-other,” M’gann stated on their way out of lunch.

Artemis snorted, “He’s an idiot.”

“He’s not that bad,” M’gann said hesitantly, “Once you get to known him he’s kinda nice,”

Artemis rolled her eyes, “Right.”

The rest of the day passed quickly, and Artemis couldn’t wait to leave the school. She just wanted to go back to her temporary apartment and give her report so that she could go to bed.

She quickly locked the door once she was in her apartment, and turned on her computer. She ran a scan to check for bugs and when the scan came up clear she called Sportmaster. 

Artemis didn’t bother to wait for a greeting and went right into her report.

“I made contact with Prince Wallace. He’s an idiot, but an idiot with a bodyguard.”

“Who’s the bodyguard?” Sportsmaster asked.

“Roy Harper. He doesn’t suspect me, but he’s with Prince Wallace at all times. He will be a challenge later.” 

“Were you able to begin a friendship with the Prince?”

Artemis shook her head, “No, and I don’t think I’m going to be able to. As I said, he’s an idiot. But I began a friendship with Prince Richard. If there is some sort of alliance being made, he will know about it.”

Sportsmaster nodded, “Keep up the good work.” With that the screen went dark and Artemis was left alone.

Artemis sighed, shut the computer, and made her way to bed. She knew that she had mountains of homework, but she had no intentions of ever doing it. She was only at the school to complete her mission. She wasn’t there to make friends or anything else. She was only there for one reason.

To kill Prince Wallace.


	2. Into the Cave

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Artemis is brought to the Cave, spars with Prince Wallace, and learns a little more about him.

The next day came much too early, and Artemis had to stop herself from hitting the snooze button and making herself late for school. She quickly dressed in the obnoxious school uniform and ran out the door, not bothering with breakfast. Her apartment was close enough that she was able to walk to school and it gave her the opportunity to observe Gotham.

During the day, in this part of the city, it was hard to remember that Gotham was home to some of the most dangerous criminals on earth. She knew that Bruce Wayne, the king of the Kingdom of the Bat’s, had to fight his way to the crown and was constantly fighting to keep it. Dick, as his heir, had been taught everything that was needed to keep the crown in their possession.

The kingdom of the Bat’s was the most dangerous kingdom, Artemis knew, but she also knew that that Kingdom of the Arrows was the second most powerful kingdom. It was the possible alliance of these two kingdoms that caused her mission. Had it been any other kingdoms her father wouldn’t have bothered to stop it, but the combination of the Arrows and the Bat’s…that could destroy even her father’s kingdom.

Artemis sighed, quickly walking across the street as she thought more about the possible alliance. It didn’t make any sense, both the Arrows and Bats had been solitary kingdoms for their entire existences, but then Prince Wallace came along, and everything might be changing. She had no idea how Prince Wallace had changed the two-kingdom’s solitary nature. 

The Flash kingdom wasn’t the most powerful, in fact, some considered it to be the least powerful. It was a small kingdom and their criminals were regarded as almost harmless when compared to the criminals in the Kingdom of the Bat’s and Arrows. But somehow the airhead that was Prince Wallace was convincing the two most powerful Kingdom’s to create and alliance with him.

Speak of the devil, Artemis though as she entered the school grounds and saw Prince Wallace flirting with M’gann. While M’gann wasn’t responding, Prince Wallace didn’t seem to be deterred. It was only when M’gann saw her that Artemis began to make her way over, Prince Wallace scowling and leaving.

“Artemis!” M’gann called happily and Artemis waved.

“Hey M’gann,”

They began making their way to class, M’gann happily babbling as they walked. The bell rang and they settled into their seats, the teacher calling the class to order. To begin, Red Tornado asked the class to pull out their homework so they could check their answers. M’gann frowned when she saw Artemis make no move to pull out her homework, but didn’t comment. The class passed quickly, Artemis making no effort to understand the material given to her. She was here for a mission, not to learn.

The rest of the day also passed quickly, Artemis not getting the chance to try to expand her friendship with Dick, but also not having to interact with Prince Wallace. However, when school ended Artemis couldn’t head home like she wished too. Today she was going to be assigned her Team.

Gotham Academy put every student into a team, a group of 6 to 10 kids that spent at least two hours together every day after school. This team was supposed to help students with classes they might be struggling with, teach forms of self-defense, and force their students to form bonds with other students.

Artemis knew M’gann was in her team, but that was the extent of her knowledge. The school’s teams weren’t commonly talked about, but she was hoping she would be in a team with Dick. It would be the perfect opportunity for Artemis to make a better friendship with him.

M’gann led Artemis to an old phone booth, “Just step inside and close the door. I’ll be right behind you.”

Artemis nodded and stepped inside. Seconds later a light scanned her, and she was transported to another place. The room Artemis found herself in was large, and as she looked around the room she spotted a bright red head of hair. Prince Wallace noticed her just as she noticed him, and she saw his smile disappear.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Artemis muttered as M’gann appeared behind her.

M’gann quickly spoke, “I’ll show you around!”

The Cave was large, much larger than the apartment Artemis was staying in now. It had a grand kitchen, a library, rooms for all of them to sleep in, and multiple training rooms.

“This is pretty nice,” Artemis eventually commented, “But why do we need it all?”

“We learn self-defense here and control of our powers here, so that what the training rooms are for.” M’gann explained cheerfully, “And the room are for those of us who don’t have a permanent place to stay, or are unable to get home that day.” M’gann glanced at the clock and began to pull Artemis back to the main room. “Training is going to start soon! We don’t want to be late!”

Artemis allowed herself to be dragged, and she was surprised to see everyone waiting for them, including a blond woman Artemis had never met. The woman smiled at her, and Artemis returned the smile hesitantly. Artemis could tell by the way that this woman stood that she was a warrior. She didn’t carry any weapons that Artemis could see, but her body language indicated that messing with her would be a mistake.

“You must be Lady Artemis,” The woman stated, and Artemis nodded.

“Hi,”

The woman smiled, “I’m Black Canary. I’ll be teaching you how to defend yourself and others,” Artemis took interest at the mention of protecting others, “Do you have any experience with combat?”

Artemis smirked, “A little,”

The woman nodded, “Good. Let’s have you spar with Wally then.”

Wally groaned and Artemis’ smirk grew. While she had no intention of letting the others know quite how skilled she was, she was going to enjoy beating Prince Wallace.

“Wally, no speed.” Black Canary added, and Wally groaned once again.

Artemis had to keep herself from cackling in glee. Prince Wallace wasn’t going to stand a chance against her. From the corner of her eye she saw Prince Wallace’s bodyguard, Roy, step forwards to get a better look.

For a moment she considered throwing the fight to get Roy off her back, but she quickly dismissed the idea. If she threw the fight, there was too big a chance that someone would be able to tell and that would be more suspicious than her doing well. 

As she and Prince Wallace walked to the center of the room, she saw the others settling in to watch. Dick looked amused, and Artemis hoped she could use her upcoming victory to deepen her friendship with him. They might be able to bond of Prince Wallace’s lack of skill. She had no doubt that Prince Wallace and Dick sparred often, and as a bat, Dick would always have the advantage.

Artemis turned her attention to Prince Wallace and settled into a loose fighting stance. Prince Wallace mimicked her, but he didn’t seem quite as relaxed in his stance. If Artemis had to guess, she’d say it was his lack of speed that made him nervous, but she didn’t care. No matter what was making him anxious, it didn’t change anything for her.

“Begin.”

Prince Wallace struck quickly, but Artemis was easily able to doge his initial punch and the kick that followed. He was skilled, she had to admit as the dodged the attacks, but she was better. She began her own attack, and Prince Wallace was quickly forced on the defensive. He was fast enough to block all her blows, but he could only block the ones he saw coming. Sadly for Prince Wallace, most of them he never saw coming. It didn’t take long for Artemis to knock Prince Wallace onto his back with her hand at his throat.

Black Canary walked over, “Well done Artemis,” She tuned to Prince Wallace, “You too Wally, but your blocks were sloppy.”

Prince Wallace’s cheeks went red with embarrassment and Artemis couldn’t stop her smirk. Prince Wallace shot her a glare before he stormed over to where Dick was standing, and Artemis lazily made her way over to M’gann.

“You’re good!” M’gann exclaimed and Artemis shrugged. They watched as the others were paired up and sparred, Black Canary giving comments at the end of everyone’s match. As Artemis had expected, Dick was the most talented of the group. He easily won his match against Conner and Artemis strongly suspected that he had been holding back.

As Artemis watched she could feel eyes on her. As everyone else fought Roy rarely took his eyes off her. She inwardly cursed, instead of decreasing his suspicions, she seemed to have increased them. She didn’t dare look at him, pretending not to notice his staring. At this point, she was just going to have to deal with him as well. However, she would no be the first to act. She would wait until he posed a threat to her mission. At the moment, he was an annoyance, not a real threat. 

Finally, the sparring was over and the group split. Prince Wallace was dragged off by Roy and Black Canary for some private training while the others headed to the kitchen. Artemis took this time to walk next to Dick, sitting next to him in the kitchen.

“You have some nice moves. Where did you learn them?” Dick asked, perching on the top of his chair.

“My…uh…mom taught me.” She spat out, wishing she had thought of a backstory before she arrived. She was a terrible on-the-spot liar. 

“Nice,” 

“What about you?” Artemis asked, “Did Batman teach you all of that?”

Dick laughed, “No, not all of it.”

M’gann came to the table, Conner and Kaulder trailing behind her, “I have cookies!” M’gann exclaimed happily.

The group eagerly dug in, the cookies quickly disappearing. The last tray had been cleared when a loud yell echoed through the Cave.

Dick stood up, “I’m going to go make sure KF is still whelmed.”

“KF?” Artemis asked.

Kaulder explained, “It stands for Kid Flash. It was Wally’s nickname when he was younger.”

Another yell was heard, followed by a crash, and then Dick’s echoing laughter, “What are they doing?”

This time Conner answered, “Training.”

Artemis stared at him, waiting for more, and eventually M’gann took pity on her, “There have been a couple attacks on Wally, they just want to make sure he is prepared.”

Artemis nodded, she had heard about the attacks on Prince Wallace. None had been organized by her father, and it was hoped that the previous attacks would make it so the eventual murder wouldn’t be so easily connected to him.

“Why are they attacking him?” She asked, hoping someone might give her some more information.

The room fell silent, “We’re not really sure.” M’gann eventually began, “Wally hasn’t really said anything, and no one else has heard anything.”

“But we respect our friend’s privacy,” Kaulder added, and Artemis nodded. Despite the fact none of the others knew, Artemis was sure Dick would. It would only be a matter of convincing him to tell her. But for now, she needed to get as much information from the others as she could.

“How long have you guys known each other?”

“Only a couple months,” M’gann stated happily, “But Dick and Wally have known each other for years.”

“How did they meet?”

M’gann paused, “I…I don’t know. Kaulder?”

Kaulder shook his head, “I do not know either. We have never asked.”

“Huh,”

Artemis continued to ask questions, she even did homework with them to give herself more time, but the other simply didn’t know much about what was going on with Prince Wallace. When she finally got back to her apartment she had made up her mind, she needed to get information herself.

A quick internet search gave her Prince Wallace’s address, and she began her plan of breaking into Prince Wallace’s home. She didn’t know any other place that would give her more information about him. Most importantly, being in his home would give her access to his computer. With his computer, she would be able to see who he talked to, what he had looked up, and she hoped that he would keep other plans on there as well. Maybe even plans of making an alliance.

Although, Artemis thought mockingly, he’s so stupid that he probably left his alliance plans on a comic on his bed. She smirked, and went back to planning. By the time the sun rose the next morning she was ready for action, all she had to do was find a time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Please tell me of anything you might want to see in the future in this story (or from me in general)!


	3. Gathering Information

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Artemis breaks into Prince Wallace's house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! Sorry for the long wait for this chapter! Below there is an explanation of the world this story is set in. The actual chapter starts after the YJYJYJYJ!

A very kind reader pointed out to me that they were confused about some things in this story! First, I would like to thank them for telling me! Underneath I am putting an explanation of this world (also in bold). If you don’t wish to read it, the story will continue when the bold stops.

To begin, the story is set in modern times with all the wonderful technology that comes with it. 

The Superhero Kingdoms:

Every superhero is a king/queen or a lord/lady. So, while not all superheroes will be royalty they will all be some sort of nobility. Whether they are a King/Queen or Lord/Lady is decided on what fits the plot the best. They superheroes all have their original powers or skills because they are a distinguishing mark of the family line.  
For example, in the Flash Kingdom the king and his heir have superspeed. In the Arrow kingdom the royals all have excellent aim. Finally, in the Bat Kingdom the royals are extremely smart and resourceful.

None of the superhero’s have secret identities. If their superhero name is used, it is used more as a title. Everyone knows the real names of the royals and nobility.  
Why they go to Gotham Academy:

The Bat Kingdom, while the most dangerous, is one of the most influential. The royals and nobility want their children to gain connections in Gotham. Going to this school allows them to do so. Gotham Academy is also an excellent private school, so all of the children receive a proper education.  
There is no Justice League, and formal alliances between kingdoms are nonexistent, which is what makes Wally creating one such a big deal!

I hope that explains everything! If not please ask me questions so I can aim to be clearer in the future!

YJYJYJYJYJYJYJ

Artemis spent the next week stalking Prince Wallace, discovering his schedule and the schedule of his entire household. She needed to know exactly when the house was empty and would be for a while. It wasn’t easy for her to find that time. Prince Wallace was the only person in the household who had a set schedule, everyone else had no permeant schedule that she could follow.

She learned that when the opportunity presented itself, she was going to have to move quickly and be prepared to leave at any time. She knew which room Prince Wallace’s was as well as the fastest way to get to and from that room. She also knew all about their security outside of their home, but she wasn’t sure of what lied inside. She would be taking a risk going in without knowing exactly what security they had, but she didn’t have the resources to find out the inside security. She would have to cover her face, wear gloves, and pray for the best.

Her opportunity presented itself on Monday, after their training in the cave. Prince Wallace and his uncle were going on a tour of their kingdom to check on their subjects. Most of their staff would be accompanying them, and only one or two would remain.

As soon as Prince Wallace and his Uncle were out of sight, Artemis went to work. She threw her hair into a baseball cap and pulled a scarf up to cover her face. As she pulled her gloves on she made her way towards the house, climbing over the wall when the coast was clear.

The camera’s that covered the yard were almost too easy to evade, and Artemis wondered if that reflected her training, or Prince Wallace’s lack of brainpower. A tree was conveniently situated by Prince Wallace’s window and it took no effort for her to climb the tree and perch next to Prince Wallace’s window. She held a small device to the window, waiting for it to tell her if there were any camera’s or listening devices in Prince Wallace’s room. When it gave her the all clear, she pried open the window and made her way into Prince Wallace’s room. 

It was cleaner than she expected, but still unmistakable Prince Wallace’s. Comics lay scattered on the bed, and science trophies covered his shelves. Photos of his Uncle, Dick, Roy, and the rest of the team decorated the room; Artemis was surprised there weren’t more of M’gann. With the way Prince Wallace flirted, Artemis would have thought that M’gann would be covering his walls.

His desk was organized, papers and pens neatly put away, the computer resting in the middle of the desk. For the moment, she ignored this and began to place small cameras around his room. She made sure to cover every angle and keep them hidden. With the cameras in place she turned back to the computer. She cracked it open and put a sticker over the camera before she fully opened it; she didn’t want to risk there being any evidence of her being there. Surprisingly, the computer asked for a password. She mentally cursed, she had hoped that there wouldn’t be a password, so she could search the computer. She couldn’t risk trying to hack it, she knew she wasn’t skilled enough to attempt to do so without announcing she was there. Artemis pulled carefully placed another camera on his lamp, angling it so it could see the computer screen. This way she could see what he did on his computer without having to hack it. She shut the computer, taking off the sticker, and went through the papers on Prince Wallace’s desk.

It was mostly schoolwork. The few papers that weren’t schoolwork weren’t of any interest to her. Artemis growled, she knew that she would now have to look at the rest of the house and that would be risky. The more time she spent in the house, the greater chance she would be discovered. However, it couldn’t be helped.

She cracked open Prince Wallace’s door, immediately spotting the camera in the hallway. This camera was much more sophisticated than the ones outside. This camera had been designed by the Bat Kingdom and had no blind spots. In the event the camera’s view was blocked, it recorded all sound and contained motion sensors as well. This camera was nearly impossible to get past, and Artemis knew she’d only be able to do so once. She would have to pick the one room she wanted to search, and that would be all she could do.  
She pulled out another device, pressing a small button on the side. The device would give her exactly ten seconds to get to the door across the hallway, Prince Wallace and his Uncle’s shared office. From there, once she gained the information she needed, she would have to exit from the office’s window. That was a much riskier escape, but she didn’t have a choice.

There was also the chance that there was another camera is in the office. However, she suspected that there wouldn’t be. Her look though Prince Wallace’s room proved that he, and most likely his uncle as well, did all their official work in the office. Alliance or no alliance, no ruler would allow another kingdom to know exactly what was happening in their kingdom. And since the security was created by the Bats, anything the cameras saw, the Bats would know.

Pressing the button once more, she ran across the hallway, closing the office door behind her. She quickly scanned the room, relieved to see no cameras, and looked around the office. There were two desks, and the room was almost split down the middle with the mess from Prince Wallace’s side. Papers were everywhere, books covered every surface, and the only clear space was the desk. She didn’t bother with Prince Wallace’s Uncle’s side of the room or either computer, knowing it would be password protected as well. Instead she began to examine the papers that covered the office.

The papers didn’t appear to be in any order, and they covered a wide variety of topics. Artemis read quickly, trying to find some information she could use. There wasn’t much useful information, but one pile of paper under the desk looked promising.

The papers contained detailed histories of the other kingdoms. They also had list of every alliance in the Kingdom’s history along with why they worked or didn’t work. There was no mention of forming an alliance, but Artemis believed that this stack of papers was evidence enough that they exited.

She continued to look through the papers, but found no other evidence of an alliance. Artemis glanced at the computer. There had to be more information on the alliance, and the computers had to hold all the answers. But the risk was too great, the computers were no doubt Bat protected and even the best hackers can’t get past Bat Security. Throwing a final glare at the computer she took pictures of all the relevant papers and planted cameras around the office, once again angling the camera to view the computer screens. She hoped she would be able to find some more information on the alliance, or information on how Prince Wallace and his uncle ran their kingdom. With everything done she made her way to the office window. Unfortunately, there wasn’t a tree at this window so climbing down would be much more obvious. The only benefit was that she wasn’t facing the street, so there was a lesser chance that she would be seen.

She pried the window open and made her way out, closing the window behind her before making her way down the wall. It was far less graceful than she would have liked, but it was quick, and she was confident that she had been unseen. Her feet had barely hit the floor when she heard voices outside of the house. She immediately recognized Prince Wallace’s and mentally cursed, trying to figure out her best escape route.

Artemis waited, listening to the voices get softer and softer until they were inaudible. Then she quickly made her way out of the yard and onto the street, pulling her scarf down to seem less suspicious.

As she turned the corner she bumped into a man, his gruff “Watch where you’re going,” following her.

She walked more quickly, recognizing that voice. It was Roy. Keeping her head down she turned another corner, praying that he hadn’t seen her face. All her other recognizable features were covered, but her face had been open.

The bus ride back to Gotham was tense. She feared that she had been seen by Roy, and any minute now they could come after her. She only relaxed when the bus entered the Bat Kingdom. As she continued on her way home, she grew more confident that Roy hadn’t recognized her.

Once in her apartment she opened her computer and pulled up the camera feeds. King Barry was working in the office, and Prince Wallace napping in his room. Artemis could help but roll her eyes at Prince Wallace. The way he was sprawled over his bed was ridiculous and lacked all dignity a royal was expected to have.

Artemis and Prince Wallace both jumped as Roy burst into the room.

“Roy? What are you doing?” Prince Wallace asked groggily as Roy stalked around his room, obviously looking for something.

Artemis held her breath, knowing her cameras were well hidden, but suddenly anxious they would be discovered. However, her luck held, and Roy stopped his patrol of the room, obviously not having discovered anything.

“Nothing,” He spat and walked out of the room, Prince Wallace staring after him before flopping back onto the bed.

Artemis watched as Roy walked into the office, nodding to King Barry and looking around the room.

“Is everything ok, Roy?” King Barry asked, looking up from his paperwork.

Roy nodded, turning to fully face him, “Everything appears to be fine.”

“Appears?” King Barry asked.

Roy nodded, “I don’t have any proof yet, but there may be another threat to Wally’s life.”

King Barry straightened, “Is he in danger?”

Roy shook his head, “Not yet. As I said, there’s no proof that there is a threat.”

“But you’ll keep an eye on it?”

“They won’t get to Wally,”

“Good.” 

Artemis turned away from the computer, glad the cameras were already proving useful. So, Roy knew that something was going on, but was she a suspect? 

Her computer rang with an incoming message form her father. Artemis groaned, and answered the call, her fathers face staring expectantly at her.

“Report.”

“I broke into Prince Wallace’s house today. There is no direct evidence to an alliance, but there is plenty of research about them. If I had to guess, I would say that he is trying to form some form of alliance, but I can’t say when, where, or with who. I planted cameras in the house to try and get more evidence.”

Cheshire appeared from behind her father and asked, “Are you still undiscovered.”

Artemis hesitated, “Roy is suspicious of me. He ran into me as I was leaving Prince Wallace’s house.”

“Did he know it was you?”

Artemis shook her head, “I don’t think so.”

“I’ll take care of Roy,” Cheshire said smugly, “Keep your mind on your mission.”

With that, the call was ended, and Artemis leaned back in her chair, taking a deep breath. She shut off her computer and went to bed, knowing her mission wasn’t going to get any easier from this point on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Please tell me what you think and what you might like to see from me in the future!


	4. Tutoring

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Artemis goes to tutoring.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi folks! Sorry for the long wait in updating, life has been crazy! I'm sad to say I can't guarantee any updates soon since May is going to be even crazier. However, please enjoy the chapter and I promise to try and update as soon as I can!

The next two weeks were nerve wracking for Artemis. She didn’t know if Roy considered her a suspect, and she didn’t know what action to take. If she knew he considered her a suspect she would kill him and that would be that. However, unlike the rest of her family, she didn’t want to kill unnecessarily. So she was stuck spending the week feeling as if she had a target on her back. 

Roy didn’t treat her any differently during her training at the cave, but since he watched her before, his endless observation wasn’t something new. Black Canary hadn’t had the team fight each other this week, instead they were learning new moves.

Artemis careful practiced every move Black Canary showed her, eager to advance her skill and be prepared for any moves Prince Wallace might use when the time came to kill him. No one was surprised at her dedication, and it allowed her to become closer with Dick. Every day they trained together long after the others had left and Artemis was confident that this training together was a time of trust.

Her dedication to fighting did not extend to her schoolwork and while Artemis did well in some subjects, she was struggling in Precalculus and Chemistry. She didn’t understand them, and she knew she wasn’t at the school to learn, so she didn’t put any effort in to learn them. She had assumed that her bad grades wouldn't draw any attention, or, if they did, it would take some time for someone to notice. She was wrong.

Artemis stared at the note in horror. In neat block letters, it told her:

Lady Artemis;

The failing grades in PRE- CALCULUS and CHEMISTRY do not meet our school standards. To rectify this you have been assigned to tutoring from PRINCE WALLACE WEST. Report to your Cave’s library at 3:00 PM tomorrow (TUESDAY).

“Artemis?” M’gann asked hesitantly, breaking her out of her stupor, “What’s wrong?”

Crumpling the note in her fist Artemis stood, brushing dirt of her skirt, “I have to go to tutoring with Prince Wallace tomorrow.”

“Oh. Pre-calc and Chemistry ?”

Artemis nodded, “Lets go to the cave,”

The Cave was oddly quiet when they arrived, and Artemis paused, waiting for something to happen. When nothing did she asked M’gann, “Where is everyone?”

“Canary gave us a free day today. Didn’t you get the message?” Artemis shook her head and M’gann frowned, “Did you check your school email?”

Artemis shook her head, “I didn’t know I had one.”

M’gann face palmed, “Hello M’gann! I never told you! Follow me to the library and I’ll get you all set up.

While every person who came to the cave had their own computers, there were still some ready for use in the library. Prince Wallace was there when they arrived, typing on his laptop while reading something off the library computer. He didn’t react when they entered, and he jumped when M’gann sat at the computer next to him.

He spun to her, pulling red headphone out of his ears, “Hey Beautiful! What brings you here?”

“I’m setting up Artemis with her school email! I forgot to give it to her when she started.”

“You sure you didn’t tell her and it wasn’t Miss Congeniality just ignoring you?” 

“The only one worth ignoring is you,” Artemis snapped, and she and Prince Wallace glared at each other.

“Ok,” M’gann said slowly, “Artemis! Sit here and I’ll get you set up!”

Artemis sat and Prince Wallace shoved his headphones back on, turning back to what he was working on. As M’gann explained Artemis only half payed attention. She was much more focused on what Prince Wallace was working on.

She was easily able to see he was writing notes, based on the format, but the laptop was too far away for her to tell when the notes said. However, the article open on the Library computer was easy for her to read. “The History of the Kingdom of the Bat’s”

Artemis couldn’t believe it. Prince Wallace was stupid enough to research making a alliance in the library where anyone could see? She couldn’t believe her luck. She now had proof that he was forming an alliance! But when she thought about it, she wondered if this was enough. Gotham Academy consistently had its students do reports on the histories of other Kingdoms, this one document wasn’t solid proof that there was an alliance forming.

“And that's it!” M’gann exclaimed and Artemis turned back to her, “Sorry M’gann I totally spaced. Show me again?” 

As M’gann showed her how to access the email again, Artemis tried to figure out what to do with this new information.

YJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJ

The next day Artemis found herself in the library again, waiting on Prince Wallace. She staring at the clock, wondering if him being late would allow her to leave.

He would be late in 3...2…

The doors slammed open, Prince Wallace skidding to a stop in front of her, narrowly avoiding hitting her. Artemis was surprised that no bodyguard followed after Prince Wallace. It seemed they were going to be left alone for the tutoring session.

She glared at him as the scattered papers settled onto the floor, “You’re late.”

Prince Wallace spun to the clock, “No I’m-” he cut himself off, took a deep breath and sat down next to her. “Look, I know that we don’t like each other, but we are here for a reason. You need help-”

“I’m fine!” She snapped and Prince Wallace groaned.

“Listen to me! You need help with Pre-Calc and Chemistry. I’m really good at those, I’m willing to offer a truce!” Artemis stared at him, “I promise I won’t mention I’m tutoring you to anyone, as long as you don’t fight with me when I’m trying to help you! Deal?” 

Artemis scowled, “Deal.”

Prince Wallace nodded and smiled, pulling a math and science book out of his bag, “What do you want to start with?”

Although Artemis would never tell a soul, she was surprised to learn that there was a brain in Prince Wallace’s seemingly empty head. The equations and concepts that made her head spin were simple to him, and he was good a breaking them down into ways that she understood.

Not that he could on the first try though. Prince Wallace’s first few explanations only received blank stares, and it wasn’t until he related the subject matter to real life concepts that she began to understand what was going on.

When Prince Wallace finally announced they were done with the subject matter, Artemis quickly stood, eager to leave, but Prince Wallace grabbed her arm, “We’re not done.”

“But we finished?”

“Yeah, with the math and stuff. Part of the tutoring is teaching you to be a better student.” Artemis rolled her eyes and groaned, but sat back down. Prince Wallace started with her notes, or well, lack of them.

“You don’t take notes?”

Artemis shrugged, “It’s not like they help.”

Prince Wallace stared at her for a moment, shook his head, and muttered, “That explains a lot.”   
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Artemis demanded, ready for a fight.

Prince Wallace almost rose to the bait, but he quickly stopped himself, “You remember things better when you write them down. I write everything important better so I’ll make sure to remember it. Also, notes make doing the homework so much easier.”

He reached into his bag and pulled out a book and a notebook, briefly revealing his laptop, “Ok. So tonight I want you to take notes on chapters 1 through 3, and use your notes to do your homework. Use my notes as a guide on what yours should look like but don’t copy them.” Artemis rolled her eyes again, “I’m serious. You’ll learn the material better if you take your own notes instead of copying mine.”

“Fine, are we done now?” 

Prince Wallace nodded and she was out the door before anything else could be said.

YJYJYJYJYJ

That night, as Artemis took notes from the book, she reflected on her tutoring session with Prince Wallace. As much as she hated to spend time with him, since she was going to be forced to spend time with him every afternoon, she would have a better chance of getting information about the alliance from him. Although he hadn’t taken it out of his bag, Artemis could see that he had brought his laptop with him to the tutoring sessions. All she needed to do was get him to log on to the computer and then snatch it when he wasn’t looking.

And once she had the information she needed, she was given a perfect time to kill him. Roy hadn’t been in the room during their tutoring session, which meant Prince Wallace was defenseless against her. Once she had the information she needed it would be easy to kill him and get away before anyone was any wiser. 

She smiled thinking, this tutoring might pay off after all. Later in the night, notes and homework completed, she would refuse to let herself think of how Prince Wallace’s tutoring had actually made the homework obnoxious instead of an impossible task.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please comment and tell me what you think! Not only do they allow me to hear all of your wonderful input, but they also inspire me to write more, even when life is crazy!

**Author's Note:**

> Please tell me what you think! I'd also love to hear any things that you might want to see in this story in the future! Thanks for reading!


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